Spain’s new socialist
government promised on Friday it would
restore free healthcare for undocumented
migrants, a right removed by the former
administration as part of cost-cutting.
According to international newsnow from Spain news
The move is the latest migrant-friendly
initiative by the government of Pedro
Sanchez, who offered on Monday to take in a
rescue ship that was drifting in the
Mediterranean sea with 629 migrants on
board. Italy and Malta had refused to let it
dock.
The government will draw up a draft law
with the proposal, it said, which must be
approved by parliament. Although the
Socialists have a minority of 84 seats in the
350-member assembly, most parties back the
proposal and it seemed certain to be
approved.
“Healthcare is a right and the protection of
health is essential,” government
spokeswoman Isabel Celaa told a news
conference.
Spain offers universal healthcare to its
citizens. The former center-right government
of Mariano Rajoy withdrew the right to
general healthcare for undocumented
migrants in 2012 as part of a program of
spending cuts.
The government later reinstated some rights
like access to emergency healthcare in 2015,
but fell short of returning full coverage to an
estimated 800,000 people residing in Spain
without papers.
Spain receives a tiny percentage of the total
asylum claims in Europe, and of those
received it accepts fewer than the EU average,
according to the Spanish Commission for
Refugees.
However, the EU border agency expects illegal
migration will rise again in 2018, potentially
turning migration into a more pressing issue
for Sanchez.
Reporting By Rodrigo de Miguel; Writing by
Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Richard Balmforth
government promised on Friday it would
restore free healthcare for undocumented
migrants, a right removed by the former
administration as part of cost-cutting.
According to international newsnow from Spain news
The move is the latest migrant-friendly
initiative by the government of Pedro
Sanchez, who offered on Monday to take in a
rescue ship that was drifting in the
Mediterranean sea with 629 migrants on
board. Italy and Malta had refused to let it
dock.
The government will draw up a draft law
with the proposal, it said, which must be
approved by parliament. Although the
Socialists have a minority of 84 seats in the
350-member assembly, most parties back the
proposal and it seemed certain to be
approved.
“Healthcare is a right and the protection of
health is essential,” government
spokeswoman Isabel Celaa told a news
conference.
Spain offers universal healthcare to its
citizens. The former center-right government
of Mariano Rajoy withdrew the right to
general healthcare for undocumented
migrants in 2012 as part of a program of
spending cuts.
The government later reinstated some rights
like access to emergency healthcare in 2015,
but fell short of returning full coverage to an
estimated 800,000 people residing in Spain
without papers.
Spain receives a tiny percentage of the total
asylum claims in Europe, and of those
received it accepts fewer than the EU average,
according to the Spanish Commission for
Refugees.
However, the EU border agency expects illegal
migration will rise again in 2018, potentially
turning migration into a more pressing issue
for Sanchez.
Reporting By Rodrigo de Miguel; Writing by
Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Richard Balmforth
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